Mitreing Skirting

[phil p]

Hi,

I'm after some advice please.

I have to put some new skirting around a pillar in the kitchen where a partition has been done, and I'm only a basic DIYer so I'm a little (sorry very) unsure how to do it, or more basically, the measuring/marking/ setting out of it.

I know I have to scribe the back edges for the internal joints at the wall, its the external mitreing I'm unsure of how to do.

Do I mark the floor or walls?, and at what points?

I have a decent mitre saw to make the cuts and I'm using MDF skirting.

There's only 3 sides to do as the back is against a side wall, so it's the 2 sides and the front edge to cover.

Where do I start?

Do I cut the 3 parts before fixing them to the wall (I'm using Pink Grip) or fix one piece then move on to the next?

Basically any advice would be great, and oh as usual the walls aren't that straight so there will be some filling with decorators caulk on the top edge, however the pillar isn't that big.

The 2 sides are about 18 inches and the front edge is a 14 inches or so.

Thanks Lads.

 

[chippy1970]

I take it you're scribing your internals as you say you know how to do the internals ?

Externals I would cut yourself some offcuts of skirting mitre at 45 then just try them on the corner you want to do . Trim as necessary until it looks right then draw lines around the base on the floor and use the lines and your offcuts to show you where to cut the real skirting.

Hope that makes sense hard to describe something I've done for years and not thought about lol

 

[gwr]

If it was me I would scribe the two internals first make sure there a good fit then mark floor front and back of skirting on both sides of your pillar don't fix any yet. place your skirting on the face edge of pillar and mark both front and back of skirting on the floor at both ends of pillar.are you following my drivel ? Where the marks on the floor cross over each other should give you the angle you need so transfer them to your skirting and bobs yer uncle. I normally cut them very slightly oversize and finish with a block plane. As Chippy says its something I do lots and don't think about but I hope yo can understand what I mean.

 

[Bradshaw Joinery]

ive seen MDF skirting mitred on the internals very effectively....still looking good 5 years on. I think scribing is only necessary on timber boards, or areas/substrates subject to movement.

 

[phil p]

Thanks for the replies lads.

Think Ive more or less grasped what you say, however have I got this right in saying it's definitely a 45 degree angle I'm cutting even with the angle not actually being 45 degrees with the wall not being square?

Is this where you play with the sides to so it looks O.K. and make the gaps even before making the 45 degree cut?

Phil

 

[chippy1970]

That's where your lines come in, this will give you the angle of your corner. Just divide by 2 and you've got your cut angle. You can get gadgets like a bevel that divides it automatically for you, I saw one at a show last week made by starrett and it was only around £12.

 

[No skills]

As usual the competent folks here have all the good info As a non-competent person I will just add my half penny, keep some long panel pins handy if you are glueing the skirting on - a few well placed pins during fitting/glue up works wonders to keep things where you want them while your are fitting the next piece - very annoying getting one joint spot on and not realising you have moved/knocked the last one without you noticing. Dont do any of the filling with the adhesive, most of them shrink a touch as they dry leaving gaps - use a good brand of caulk also, I've used a couple of cheap ones that have also shrank after application.

One room I did in our last flat, I had the caulk on hand as I was fitting the skirting - put some on the ends of the skirting as i was fitting it into the corners and used a scraper and finger to take the excess off straight away, made a quick and tidy joint (mdf skirting!).

FWIW

 

[Roughcut]

If it was me I would scribe the two internals first make sure there a good fit then mark floor front and back of skirting on both sides of your pillar don't fix any yet. place your skirting on the face edge of pillar and mark both front and back of skirting on the floor at both ends of pillar.are you following my drivel ? Where the marks on the floor cross over each other should give you the angle you need so transfer them to your skirting and bobs yer uncle. I normally cut them very slightly oversize and finish with a block plane. As Chippy says its something I do lots and don't think about but I hope yo can understand what I mean.

Yes I believe this is known as "True mitreing".
I was shown how to do this several years ago and it's really useful.
When I was first shown the method it made complete sense as not all corners are 90 degrees and this takes the guessework out of it.

 

[Rob Bacon]

I would suggest you take a look at Tommys trade secrets fixing skirting on you tube the carpenter gives a very comprehensive guide to scribing and mitring sorry I am not sure how to post the link but it is worth searching for. hope this helps Rob

 

[slpower01]

Hopefully the photo uploads and I know this is an oldish thread but thought this pic might help.... typically what I do to get the correct angle on those awkward walls which two 45's dont just cut it.....

1) get a planed piece of timber... even a bit of skirting on its side and lightly mark with a pencil to replicate the angle of the wall (as seen in the top left pic)....

2) bisect this angle by joining a line from the outer wall corner to the point where the two lines meet.

3) lay down a scrap piece of timber and pull these lines onto it and join the lines up.

4) set your mitre saw up and keep cutting and adjusting till you have the exact angle.

Another way to get the angle is to use a bevel..... set to bevel to the wall angle (roughly 90 degree's give or take) and then mark this on a piece of timber like the bottom pic only you will need to mark either side of the bevels blade.

After this you will need to mark a parallel line to the edge of the board that is the same thickness of the bevels blade.... then bisect the angle and set up your saw.....


Hope this at least helps someone....
Steven.

 

[DUNK_WALES]

When bisecting your angles use a piece of skirting on the flat to draw your lines when setting your bevel it will give you a greater distance to set it over making it more accurate and easier to set. Remember to pin and glue your mitres to stop them parting
Good luck

 

[bugbear]

This is a common question, and quite a few good tutorials (differing in detail, as usual) are on the web.

However, several of them (the web being what it is) are American, and searching for "skirting board" won't find these helpful tutorials.

So here's the secret.

Americans calls "skirting board" - "base board", and they spell "mitre" - "miter".

e.g.

http://www.finehomebuilding.com/PDF/Free/021146084.pdf

BugBear